Machine for inserting fastenings.



A. BATES L T. BRIGGS. MACHINE FOR INSERTING FASTENINGS. APPLICATION FILED umzz, 1907.

1,107,248, Patented Aug 18, 1914.

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rinTTEn sTATEs PATENT onirica ARTHUR BATES AND THOMAS BRIG-GS, OF LEICESTER, ENGLAND, ASSGNOR-S TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPO RATION OF NEW JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR INSEBTING- FASTENNGS.

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drawings, is a specification, like reference` characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to machines for inserting fastenings and especially to such machines as are adapted to deal with previously formed fastenings.

An object of the invention is to adapt such machines to deal satisfactorily with fastenings having heads which are large in proportion to their shanks, such for example as nugget nails and hob nails. Of the last mentioned kinds of fastenings, the nugget nails, which have conical heads, are similar in their proportions to, but are somewhat smaller than, the hob nails. To enable nugget nails to travel down the raceway of a machine of this type, it is necessary to allow plenty of clearance between the tops of the heads of the nails and the plate which covers said heads especially over the usual bend at the lower end of the raceway. Fun thermore, in traveling down the raceway, and especially along the beforementioned bend at the lower end, the nails are apt to lie in a more or less inclined position, the under sides of the heads being improperly seated upon the raceway. Consequently, the separating means used to separate the endmost nail in t-he raceway from those that follow and to feed it into the driver passage in the throat of the machine is apt .either to miss a nail or to engage the shanks of two nails and endeavor to feed both of them at the same time into the driver passage.

A particular obj ect of the invention, therefore, is to provide in a fastening-inserting machine having a raceway means for seating the heads of the nails, one or more at a time, properly in or upon the raceway to insure that the shanks of the nails, which are usually engaged by the separating means, shall be in correct position for such engagement. The seating means is preferably arranged to o-perate in timed relation to the separating means, being preferably automatically actu- Specfication of Letters Patent.

Application ined January 22, 1907. semi No. 353 ses'.

Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

ated to seat the nail head before the separatingmeans engages the shank. A convenient arrangement to eiiect the proper timing of the seat-ing means and the separating means is to place the former under the control of the latter. Means is also preferably provided by which the time of engagement of t-he seat means may be varied in order to suit the mechanism to diiierent sizes of nails and different speeds of operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in a fastening-inserting machine,

means for eecting an adjustment between the point of a fastening about to be inserted and the work into which it is to be inserted. Such an adjustment is especially desirable in machines for inserting nails of the kind above specified, and the general object of such an adjustment is to bring the point of the nail into as close proximity to the work as possible before it is driven into the work. It has been found that if the nail point be not in close proximity to the work, there is great liability to sidewise displacement by the driver and consequent incorrect. insertion in the work. Moreover, especially with fastening-inserting machines provided with nail-retaining jaws, different kinds of nails are apt to proj ect different distances through the retaining jaws and therefore the provision of means for adjusting the distance between the point of the nail and the work obviates the necessity for the employment of special nailretaining jaws for each kind of nail.

Any convenientmeans may be employed for obtaining the adjustment between the fastening point and the work. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated herewith, the foot plate or work abutment is shown as adjustable relatively to the nail box, or nail-retaining jaws. It is also within the province of the present invention to effect the aforesaid adjustment by spreading the nail-retaining jaws more or less by any suitable means, in order to allow the point of the nail to project through the j aws the desired distance.

The invention comprehends also a novel arrangement of work guiding mechanism.

For purposes of illustration the improvements above referred to are shown as embodied in a loose nailing machine of the kind disclosed in United States Letters Pata larger scale of part' of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1.

rlhe standard 12, frame 14, main shaft 16, cam 18, arm 2O fast on rockshaft 22 and arm 24 attached to the same rockshaft and connected to the swinging head 26 which it actuates, the nose or throat 28, the awl bar 80, the awl 82, the driver bar 84, the driver 36, the separator 38, the separator lever 40 and the raceway 42, are all substantially as shown and described in the patent above cited. ln addition to the parts hereinbefore mentioned and those others which are shown in the patent above cited, the nail-retaining jaws 74 and 76, pivoted at 47 and 46 respectively upon the head 26, are in themselves no part of the present invention. That part of the present invention which relates to means for seating the nail head properly in or upon the raceway comprises a nail seating` device hereinshown as made in the form of a lever 44 pivoted at 46 on the swinging head 26. One end of the lever 44 projects over the lower end of the raceway 42 and the spring 48, between the end of the lever and the swinging head 26, holds said end normally in engagement with the head of the endmost nail in the raceway 42, thus maintaining Said nail in correct position for the operation thereon oi' the separator 38. The other end of the lever 44 is ottsot at 52 to project in the path of motion of a pin 50 upon the lever 40 which actuates the separator 38, so that as said separator moves into its operative position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 4, the pin 50 is moved ont of engagement with the offset end 52 of the lever 44. The lever is thus left free to be actuated by the spring 48. As the lower end of the lever 44 moves downward under the influence of the spring 48, it engages the head of the enclmost nail in the raceway and seats 1t just before Vthe separator 88 acts upon it. The end of the lever 44 may be made wide enough-to engage also the head` or heads of one or more nails behind the Y the pin 50 in the separatorV arm engages the end 52 of the lever 44 and rocks said lever on the center 46 sufficiently to permit the row of nails in the raeeway 42 to move along, thus permitting the succeeding nail in the line to come under the end ot the lever. The pin 50 is screwed 'through the lever Al() so as to be adjustable whereby the time in the operation of the machine when pin .36 engages, or moves out of engagement with, the offset portion 52 may be arie/l, the loci:- ing nut 54 being` provided to secure the piu in adjusted position.

rEhe mechanism for adjust ina' the distal'ue between the worl: supported upon the usual work support and the point ol the nail. in the throat comprises a foot plate 66 against the under side of which the work is pressed. said foot plate being secured to, or 'termed integral with, an arm 58 pivotcd at 66 on the machine frame 14. rlhc arm is normally upheld by any suitable yielding means, such tor example as a spring-pressed plunger 62. interposed between the 'toot plate 56 and the machine trame '14 is a, wedge shaped picco 64 provided with rack teeth 66. A pinion upon a spindle 68 journaled in the machine trame gears with the teeth on the wed ge shaped piece 6l. 'lhe spindle is provided with a handle 72 by means of which it may be turned to more the wedge shaped piece 64 to raise or lower the toot plate at 56 to vary the distance lwtwccu the throat 28 or the nail-retaining jaws. 74, 76 and thc work. The arm which carries the toot plate 56 may be turned down to allow the throat 2S and adjacent parts to be inspected.

The work guiding mechanism illustrated comprises an edge guide 78 carried on an arm 8O and held in operative position by a spring plunger 82, said guide being capable, of being' turned down out of operative position when not required, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. rlhe guide 78 when in operative position is pressed by its spring` plunger 82 against the under side ot the foot plate 56 and, if desired, thc spring a ctuating the plunger 82 can be made strong enough to uphold the foot plate also, in which case it will be possible to dispense with the spring-pressed plunger 62. A. handle 8l Afor adjusting the edge gage bacltwardly and forwa 1dly in any suitable or usual wav is provided also.

Briefiy set forth, the operation of the seating means is as follows: As the separator lever 40 moves forward to cause the separator 38 to engage the endmost nail ot the row of nails in the raceway, the pin 50 on the lever moves out of contact'. with the offset portion 52 on the seating lever 4l. The other en d of the lever 44 is then moved downward by the spring 48 into engagement with the head of the nail about. to'bc sepa.- rated from the row. This engagement oi the lever 44 with the nail takes place just before the separator 38 engages the shank Cil of the nail, so that the nail head is properly seated and the shank of the nail is in proper position for the action of the separator 38, Upon the return movement of lever 40, the pin engages the offset portion 52 and raises the engaging end of lever 44. When it is desired to vary the distance of the point of the nail from the work, the operator by means of the handle 72 and pinion 70 moves the wedge-shaped block 64 either forward o1' backward. l/Vhen the block 64 is moved forward, the foot plate or work abutment 56 is moved downward and the work is moved away from the point of the nail projecting through the jaws 74, 76. When the block 64 is moved backward, the work abutment 56 is moved toward the jaws 74, 76 under the action of the spring-pressed plunger 6:2 and the work is thus brought nearer the point of the nail.

The invention is obviously not limited to a nail seating device which seats the head of a single nail at a time, nor is it limited to a pivotally mounted nail seating device, since any other construction which would provide an engaging member moving into and out of engagement with the nail head in timed relation to separating means would be an obvious modification of the present construction and within the scope of the invention. Moreover, as hereinbefore suggested, the invention is not limited to a machine in which the adjustment between the point of the nail and the work into which the nail is to be inserted is eiiected by movement of the foot plate or work abutment, but such adjustment may be obtained in other ways as, for example, by spreading the jaws 74 and 76 which are pivotally mounted upon the head and are springpressed toward each other by a spring not shown.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is l. In a machine for inserting fastenings having heads with flat under-surfaces, the combination with a nail raceway, of means arranged to be brought intermittently into engagement with the head or heads of one or more nails at the delivery end of said raceway in such manner that pressure is brought to bear upon the head of the nail to be delivered in substantially the line of its shank to cause the head to be completely seated upon the raceway and the shank to extend along a line substantially perpendicular to the head supporting upper surface of the raceway, and means for actuating said nail seating means.

2. In a machine for inserting fastenings having heads with flat under-surfaces the combination with a nail raceway and a nail throat having a driver passage, the portion of said raceway adjacent to the throat lying substantially at right angles to said driver passage, of means arranged to be brought intermittently into engagement with the head or heads of one or more nails in said raceway in such manner that pressure is brought to bear upon the head of the nail to be delivered in substantially the line of its shank to seat the head of the nail flatly upon the raceway and to bring the shank into parallelism with said driver passage, and means for actuating said nail seating means.

3. In a machine for inserting fastenings having heads with fiat under-surfaces, the combination with a nail raceway and nail separating means, of means cont-rolled by the separating means to insure the proper positioning for the action of the separating means of the nails in the raceway constructed and arranged to engage the head or heads of one or more nails at the delivery end of the raceway in such manner that pressure is brought to bear upon the head of the nail to be delivered in substantially the line of its shank whereby the head of the nail is seated flatly upon the raceway and the shank of the nail is caused to extend along a line perpendicular to the head supporting upper surface of the raceway.

4. ln a machine for inserting fastenings, the combination with a nail raceway and nail separating means, of means controlled by the separating means to insure the proper positioning, for the action of the separating means, of the nails in the raceway, and means for varying the controlling 100 action of the separating means.

5. In a machine for inserting astenings, the combination with a nail raceway and nail separating means, of means to insure the proper positioning, for the action of the 105 separating means, of the nails in the raceway, comprising a member movable into engagement with the endmost nail in the raceway, and adjustable means carried by the separating means for controlling the move- 110 ment of said member.

6. In a machine for inserting astenings having a head, the combination with a nail raceway and nail separating means, of means to insure the proper positioning for 115 the action of the separating means oi" the nails in the raceway comprising a member pivotally mounted upon the machine head and yieldingly pressed into contact with the nails in the raceway, and means carried by 12o the nail separa-ting means for moving said member out of contact with the nails.

7. ln a nailing machine, the combination with a work abutment against which the work to be nailed bears, and nail retaining 125 means adjacent to said abutment, oit means for varying the distance between the point of the nail maintained in said nail retaining means and the work bearing against said. abutment.

8. In a nailing machine, the combination' With yielding means for retaining a nail in readiness :tor insertion in the Work, and means surrounding said retaining means against Which the Work is heldY to receive the nail, of means for varying the relative positions of ,the nail and the Work thus held. i A

9. In a nailing machine, the combination With yielding nail retaining means and a Work abutment interposed between the nail retaining means and the Work, one of said members being movable relatively to the other, ci' means for causing such relative movement.

l0. ln a nailing machine, the combina.- tion With yielding nail retaining means, of a Work abutment yieldingly pressed toward said nailV retaining means along the axis of the nail held in said retaining means, said Work abutment being interposed betWeen the nail retaining'means and the Work, and means for moving said abutment aWay from said retaining means.

ll. ln a nailing machine, the combination With a Work abutment against Which the Work to be nailed bears, and nail retaining means adjacent to said abutment, said retaining means being adapted to aline the shank ot' the nail With the path of the driver, of means for varying the distance between the point of the nail maintained in said nail retaining means and the Work bearing against said abutment.

l2. In a machine for inserting iiastenings, the combination With a machine frame and a nail holder, of a Work abutment, said Work abutment being movable relatively to said frame, and means for causing such relative iovement comprising an intermediate member movable t 'ansversely of the direction of movement of the abutment, one of said three last named elements having an inclined surface for causing the abutment to move in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the movable member.

i3. In a machine for inserting iastenings, the combination With a machine :frame and a nail holder, of? a Work abutment yieldingly pressed toward said nail holder, and means for moving said abutment away 'from said nail holder comprising an intermediate member movable relatively to said trame and said abutment, one of said three last named elements having an inclined surface for causing the abutment to move in a direction transverse to the direction of movement ot the movable member.

la. ln a machine for inserting fastenings, the combination With a machine tram r and a nail holder, et a Work abutment yieldingly pressed toward said nail holder and means for moving said alnitment away from said holder comprising an intermediate member movable relatively to said frame and said abutment, and means for moving said member.

ln testimony Whereo'f We have signed our names to this specii'icatien in the presence of' two subscribing Witnesses.

ARTHUR BATES. THOliL-LS BRIG (i S.

lVitnesses z donn Bici-Linn LAW, ARTHUR Ennns'r JnnnAN.

Gopies of this gatent may be obtained for tive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

